IND vs PAK: “Presence Of A Left-hander Would Be Important”– Suresh Raina On Rishabh Pant vs Dinesh Karthik Debate Ahead Of T20 World Cup 2022

Former India National Cricket Team left-handed batter Suresh Raina has shared his views on the Rishabh Pant vs Dinesh Karthik debate, which has become a hot topic of discussion in the lead-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Amongst young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik only one can make the cut in India’s playing XI as the rest of the spots have more or less been sorted.

ICC Teams Rankings | ICC Players Rankings

In recent times, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter Karthik has been given preference in playing XI over Pant. However, the former India National Cricket Team player Suresh Raina feels that the presence of a left-handed batter is very important in the middle-order.

“I would say the presence of a left-handed batter would be very important in the middle,” Raina told news agency PTI.

He added that the left-handed trio of himself, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh played pivotal roles for India National Cricket Team in several ICC events in past.

“From No. 1-6, we don’t have a left-hander and I’m sure the opponents will have two-three left-handed bowlers. We have seen it in the past — 2007 (World T20), 2011 (ODI World Cup) and 2013 (Champions Trophy) — the role Gauti, Yuvi Pa and I played,” Raina said.

The 35-year-old also said that Pant being a left-hander can be the X-factor in the World Cup.

“You need to bring the X factor with Hardik and who can be the X factor? I think Rishabh being a left-hander could be better,” he replied when asked who should be the first choice between Pant and Karthik.

When Yuvi Pa and I played, we would scare the opponents – Suresh Raina

Raina further said that the left-handed duo of himself and Yuvraj Singh used to scare the opponents and now it will be up to the Indian team management to make a decision on whether they need a left-hander in the middle order.

“When Yuvi Pa and I played, we would scare the opponents. Now Rahul, Rohit will have to decide how they have to go about it. I’m sure they must be thinking over it, but whoever they play, we have to win,” Raina said.

Raina also stated that whoever gets a chance must take responsibility and win games for India. However, he was in favour of Pant being given the opportunity as he feels a left-right combination can upset the rhythm of the opposition.

“DK has got an opportunity, he has been given a role. But I’m not saying whether they should prefer Pant over DK. Whoever gets a chance, needs to take a lot of responsibility and win the game,” he said.

“A left-right combination can upset the rhythm, especially when the grounds in Australia are big. It’s important to have a left-handed batter in the middle. Pant has done really well in Australia and won the Test series there. So we’ll see,” he added.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 is scheduled to commence on October 16 with the group stage matches. The Super 12 round will commence on October 22 and the final is set to take place on November 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: “Don’t Give Them Any Width” – Irfan Pathan Shares His Game Plan On How To Tackle Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan In T20 World Cup 2022